A researcher at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, has revealed that the mosquitoes in Jamaica are developing resistance to the chemicals used during fogging aimed at controlling the vector for diseases such as dengue, Chikungunya and Zika.
Dr. Sheena Francis, research fellow at the Natural Products Institute, who was speaking yesterday evening on RJR's Beyond the Headlines, said the health ministry is already carrying out tests to find alternatives.
“In Jamaica to my knowledge, the Ministry of Health has used Malathion and the mosquitoes in Jamaica are developing a resistance. I am working with the vector unit in Jamaica to conduct tests using several insecticides to try and find out which chemical is very effective against the mosquitos here.”
Francis explained that, while the mosquitoes are developing resistance to the insecticide, it will still kill them.
Study
Meanwhile, a new study by an international group of researchers has found that prior dengue virus infection could protect children from symptomatic Zika virus infection.
Among children infected with Zika, researchers found that those with a prior dengue infection were 38 per cent less likely to develop symptomatic Zika than children without prior dengue exposure.
While dengue has been endemic to the Americas, Zika was not reported in the region until 2015.
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